Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan purchases Wembley Stadium

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan has made a massive move in purchasing London’s Wembley Stadium – what does it mean for the Jaguars?

With the NFL Draft looming in less than 12 hours, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan decided to make news of his own by purchasing London’s Wembley Stadium for a reported sale price of $700 million U.S.

Khan released a statement via Jaguars.com explaining the decision, and he expectedly mentions how this benefits the Jaguars in the short and long term:

"“For the Jaguars, it would deliver another – and very significant – asset and local revenue source that would further strengthen our investment in London, which as everyone knows is crucial to the Jaguars’ continued sustainability in Jacksonville. In every respect, the Jaguars’ standing in London would be improved and dramatically enhanced if we are fortunate to be approved as the new owner and steward of Wembley Stadium, and that’s good news for the Jaguars and all of Jacksonville.”"

In the State of the Franchise last week and essentially every time President Mark Lamping has discussed London, the importance of those overseas games to the franchise’s revenue stream has been emphasized. The Jaguars are more viable because of their annual London game and it’s helped them reaffirm their investment to Jacksonville. The London game has become an integral part to the Jaguars prospects.

If you consider from the perspective of protecting one of the franchise’s most important assets, it makes a ton of sense. More teams and owners in the NFL are seeing the benefits of playing overseas and are likely going to start stepping forward to get games across the pond. To avoid having the Jaguars lose out on a game, and potentially two games if the Jaguars start a home-away series, Khan is taking control of Wembley Stadium.

Now Khan has a consistent revenue stream from one of the biggest sports venues in the entire world. It’ll benefit his football team, his soccer team (Fulham), and his overall net worth.

It’s easy to worry about a move like this if your a fan living in Jacksonville, but there’s no reason to believe Khan isn’t still fully committed to this city. He’s consistently made efforts to improve the stadium and the surrounding property to put this team on the map.

Breathe easy – the Jaguars will stay in Jacksonville.